The grievances between Xue Mu and Tang Zibo can be traced back to seven years ago. Ever since Tang Zibo said "Qing Huan doesn't want to see you" to him with a sullen face, Xue Mu has been looking for an opportunity to drag him to the school grounds to practice hard.
In fact, over the years, there have been many opportunities to practice him, but both the late emperor and the current emperor said that the overall situation should be the top priority, just like now he knows that Tang Zibo has sent people to assassinate him time and time again, but he still hasn't attacked him for a long time. It's just because I don't want to disturb the prince who is far away in Lingnan.
It's easy to get rid of Tang Zibo, but this will scare the snake away. The King of Lingnan has been dormant for so many years, and it seems that he can't hold back in the past few years. They don't want to scare him back.
The emperor is still waiting to take this opportunity to catch them all.
And after these years, Xue Mu has learned to hide his emotions and anger, even if he hates Tang Zibo to the bottom of his heart, he can still call him Brother Guangyuan with a smile.
But now, the impulse in Xue Mu's heart swept over again, he wished to throw Tang Zibo into the school yard immediately, and practice to death.
Looking at his changing face, Tang Zibo was already happy in his heart, but his face was still full of sincerity.
Xue Mu calmed down secretly, and asked Tang Zibo, "How did brother Guangyuan know about this?"
Tang Zibo said: "Aies told me personally." He paused, as if he was afraid that Xue Mu would not believe him, and said with a straight face, "Master, Du Juan is a liar who is greedy for money, as long as there is profit, She can cooperate with anyone. But Lord Hou should be clear in his heart that the battle between General Xue Cheng and Dongganluo that year had severely damaged Dongganluo's vitality. In the past few years, they have recharged their batteries and the border was temporarily peaceful. Now Aes is brave and good at fighting, and his ambition is even greater than that of his father. If he is really allowed to become king in the future, the Dongganluo Kingdom will become a big problem for Da Cheng, and the people of Da Cheng who are protected by General Xue Cheng with his life, will suffer from wars and turmoil.”
These words are so sensible and touching, even he himself will be moved. He knew that the person Xue Mu admired the most in his life was his father Xue Cheng, as long as the old general Xue was moved out, it would be difficult for Du Juan to turn around this time.
Xue Mu's eyes changed several times, and finally calmed down gradually. He looked at Tang Zibo who was standing opposite, and he couldn't hear any emotion in his voice: "Brother Guangyuan's proposal, I will consider it."
Tang Zibo pursed his lips and smiled, and said: "Then I won't bother Lord Hou anymore, I'll take my leave first."
After Tang Zibo left, Xue Mu sat in the main hall for a while. Nuo Yan looked at him nonchalantly. If Du Juan really gave Aies the treasure map as Tang Zibo said, it would be tantamount to treason, and anyone in the army would be chopped off with a single knife. Life. What's more, the target of her rebellion was the Donggan Luo Kingdom that killed General Xue Cheng. Ten deaths were not enough to relieve the hatred in her heart.
But she was the one who did this, and he was worried that Xue Mu would soften his heart.
"Master Hou..." Nuo Yan contemplated for a long time, and managed to organize his words, but Xue Mu interrupted him just as he started.
"I will handle this matter myself, you don't need to interfere."
Nuo Yan's gaze narrowed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "This subordinate understands."
Xue Mu left the main hall without saying a word, and walked towards the main room.
Just as Liu Qinghuan dried her hair, she sat in front of the bronze mirror and asked Chi Tao and Qing Zhi to help her style her hair. The door was pushed open with a "squeak", Chitao Qingzhi turned her head and blessed the door: "Master Hou."
Liu Qinghuan suddenly became nervous, remembering what Xue Mu said to her before leaving, her cheeks felt slightly hot unconsciously.
"You go out first."
Chi Tao and Qing Zhi were slightly surprised by the words without ups and downs, but they still bowed and retreated. Liu Qinghuan also heard the suppressed emotions of the speaker in just a few words. With her half-coiled black hair on her head, she looked sideways at Xue Mu, the deliberately suppressed anger in his eyes didn't look like he was here to consummate the marriage with her.
It's more like asking a teacher to ask a crime.
Liu Qinghuan pursed her lips and fell silent. Xue Mu walked to her side and looked down at her: "Let me ask you, what terms did Aies exchange with you for helping you escape from the Marquis Mansion that day?"
Liu Qinghuan's eyes flickered, but she didn't answer. Xue Mu stared at her closely, and asked again: "Is it the map on "Magnolia Spring"?"
Liu Qinghuan took a breath and looked up at him: "Since you already know, why bother to ask me?"
The hand hanging by her side was clenched suddenly, and the murderous aura rising from Xue Mu forced Liu Qinghuan to lean back: "When I told you that you painted a secret, you also pretended to be ignorant? "
Liu Qinghuan took another breath and confessed: "Yes."
Xue Mu's eyes darkened. The map in her hand was either memorized when he splashed it with water, or... Long before he told her, she had already rubbed down the map on the drawing. It now appears that it is the latter.
Thinking of this, Xue Mu couldn't help but sneer: "You know that there is a mystery in the painting, but you still pretend to be ignorant in front of me. When will you be able to tell the truth?"
Liu Qinghuan also laughed: "You know I'm a liar, but you still expect to hear the truth from me. When will you stop being so naive?"
If Li Yuanbai was here, he must lament that Lord Hou had suffered a defeat in the quarrel.
Xue Mu choked on being blocked, and became even more angry in his heart. He looked at Liu Qinghuan, and his heart gradually became cold: "Do you know how my father died?"
Liu Qinghuan's heart was suffocated, and she looked away.
Xue Mu continued: "Relying on their own strength and strength, the Donggan Luo Kingdom invaded our border year after year. My father stopped their cavalry with his life, but now you can easily send them the treasure map?"
Liu Qinghuan buried her head, she didn't dare to look at Xue Mu's expression at all.
During these days in the Hou Mansion, she heard Ning talk about many things about Xue Mu's childhood. The border was not peaceful in those few years, although General Xue Cheng was often away from home, every time he came back, Xue Mu would be happy for a long time. He has practiced martial arts with Xue Cheng since he was a child, and he is familiar with military books. Xue Cheng is the hero of the entire Dacheng, and even Xue Mu's hero.
But the hero finally fell.
When Xue Cheng died, the Ning family cried, the people cried, the former emperor cried, Xue Mu... Did he cry too
"When I told you the secret in the painting, I just hoped that you would know the seriousness. I didn't expect you to be... You are really disappointing." Xue Mu's mouth was drawn into a straight line, and his voice was as dry as yellow sand in the desert. , "Do you know, you are collaborating with the enemy and treason."
His words were bitten lightly, but they hit Liu Qinghuan's heart one by one.
The room was so quiet that only the breathing of the two of them remained. After Xue Mu said this, he turned and left the main room as if he didn't want to see her again. Liu Qinghuan glanced at his back in surprise, didn't kill her, beat her, or even lock her up, just... leave
She pursed her lips and let go of the corner of her skirt that she had been holding tightly.
After Xue Mu left, he never came back. It was not until evening that Liu Qinghuan heard Qing Zhi's report that Lord Hou lived by the lotus tonight.
She smiled and said nothing. After washing up early, she lay down on the bed.
Tonight, Xue Mu lived by the lotus by himself, and he didn't let Nian Tang come to hold hands in the yard.
Liu Qinghuan turned over and remembered what Xue Mu said to her in the afternoon.
Collaboration with the enemy and treason? She couldn't bear such a big hat that Hou Ye put on her. When he left, she asked her to wait for him to come back. She waited, but she just waited for this result.
Liu Qinghuan couldn't help laughing, anyway, tomorrow is the ten-day appointment Tang Zibo said in his letter, when the time comes, the sky will let her fly, and everyone will be gone.
At this time, she also wanted to understand the ins and outs of this matter. Tang Zibo must have told Xue Mu that she gave the map to Aies. He deliberately pushed himself to a dead end and had no choice but to join hands with him.
Really worthy of a generation of villains.
Liu Qinghuan closed her eyes, she'd better recharge her batteries tonight, and let's see what tricks he will play tomorrow.
Early the next morning, Xue Mu went to the army, accompanied by Peng Peng and Nuo Yan. After Liu Qinghuan got up, she went to Ning's room to greet the old lady.
As soon as Ning Shi saw Liu Qinghuan, she asked worriedly: "Qing Huan, what happened to you and Mu'er? Why did he live by the lotus again last night?"
Liu Qinghuan had expected that she would ask about this, but she didn't know how to answer.
Facing Ning's, she felt a little guilty all the time. Although the old lady has no worries about food and clothing in this life, the loss of her husband in the early years was a big blow to her, and later Xue Mu went to the battlefield at a young age, the old lady must be worried. Fortunately, in the past few years, the country has been rich and the people are safe. The old lady had hoped to embrace a grandson early and enjoy the rest of her life, but she ended up with a daughter-in-law like her.
Liu Qinghuan lowered her eyelids and said nothing, seeing her like this, Ning thought that Mu'er must have been wronged by someone, and she must teach him a lesson when she comes back.
She smiled, and stopped forcing Liu Qinghuan, and started talking about something else: "This rouge porridge was just made on a good day, and you are lucky today, so hurry up and try it while it's hot."
Liu Qinghuan also smiled in relief, picked up a spoon and took a sip: "I really should let Chitao Qingzhi taste it too, they will surely cry to death."
Chi Tao and Qing Zhi's cheeks were flushed by her words, Ning said with a smile: "Liang Chen can't bear to be praised, if you praise her so much today, she will be able to cook porridge tomorrow."
Liang Chen covered his mouth and smiled lightly: "The old lady taught you the right thing."
Liu Qinghuan smiled lightly and didn't speak any more, just ate the porridge in the bowl spoon by spoon. The Hou's Mansion is so good, the famous ladies who want to come here to be their daughter-in-laws can probably line up from the East Market to the West Market, and then come back from the West Market. The old lady will definitely be able to hold a big fat grandson in the future, but... it has nothing to do with her.
After Liu Qinghuan finished eating the porridge, she looked at Ning again and said, "Aniang, the weather has turned cold recently, you should pay more attention to your health, don't catch a cold."
Liang Chen smiled and said: "Young Madam, don't worry, the servants will take good care of the old Madam."
Liu Qinghuan nodded: "This way I can rest assured."
After bidding farewell to the Ning family, Liu Qinghuan returned to the main room and waited wholeheartedly for the person Tang Zibo said would meet him. After a while, I heard some commotion outside. She glanced outside, and called Qingzhi to see what happened outside.
After eating the crispy cheese in the bowl, Qing Zhi just came back from outside. Before Liu Qinghuan could speak, she hurriedly said: "Ma'am, some Zoroastrians have come outside, saying that heretics have fled into the Hou's residence, and they want to come in and arrest people."
Liu Qinghuan let out a sigh in her heart, as expected, Tang Zibo couldn't be expected to come up with any shocking plan. She handed the bowl to Chitao beside her, and said to herself: "You are so brave, you dare to go into the Hou's mansion to arrest people."
"Yes." Qingzhi nodded in agreement, "Is it possible to enter the Hou's mansion casually? Those barbarians were stopped by the guard, but they still refused to let go, insisting that they fled into the Hou's mansion. Unable to stand still, he directly moved his hands."
"Oh?" Liu Qinghuan raised her eyebrows and asked, "How's the situation now? Don't alarm Aniang."
"What Madam said is that the nurses are also worried about this matter. Master Hou and the others are not at the house today, but fortunately there is Miss Niantang. When I came, they had already asked Miss Niantang for help."
"That's it." Liu Qinghuan stood up from the couch, and walked to the door calmly. There are many seasonal flowers planted in the yard, and the aroma of osmanthus is so strong that it cannot be melted away.
"Ma'am, those Zoroastrians haven't left yet, Ma'am should go in and rest in the room first." Qing Zhi walked up, fearing that those barbarians would suddenly rush in and hurt Madam, then Lord Hou should be angry again.
"En." Liu Qinghuan nodded, and knocked Qing Zhi unconscious while turning around. Chitao froze on the spot for a moment, Liu Qinghuan took advantage of her trance, and his figure flickered behind her, knocking her unconscious to the ground in the same way.
After helping the maids to put them on the couch, Liu Qinghuan let out a slight breath.
The last time she ran away, she stunned them with a knife like this, and I don't know what Xue Mu told them later. Anyway, it's been a long time since she came back, and the two girls never mentioned this matter to her. And even though they had a miserable experience, these two girls still didn't take any precautions against her, they were simply... too caring.
"Alas." Liu Qinghuan sighed softly, but in fact she was really reluctant to part with them.
She went back to the room and changed into Du Juan's clothes, put on a veil, and went around the empty yard, jumping up and down the wall of the Hou's backyard a few times.
This escape was so smooth that she felt that it was not an escape at all, but that Xue Mu let her go on purpose.
She hooked her lips coldly, and accepted Master Hou's kindness.
Before turning over the wall, she took one last look at the Hou Mansion. After leaving this time, I will never come back again.